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The German antitrust regulator, the Bundeskartellamt (BKartA), says Vodafone and Vantage have deliberately obstructed the development of 1&1’s mobile network
In a statement released today, BKartA said it suspects Vodafone and its privately owned tower spin-off Vantage Towers of engaging in anticompetitive practises designed to delay its would-be mobile rival 1&1.
The preliminary legal assessment accuses Vodafone and Vantage Towers of failing to provide 1&1 access to thousands of its mobile sites, as per a previous agreement.
“According to the information available to us at this stage, the delay and its negative effects on competition in the relevant markets could, and in view of the prohibition of abusive practices under competition law, should indeed have been avoided,” said Andreas Mundt, president of the BKartA. “At the current stage, we are considering using our powers as a competition authority to enforce the provision of the sites which have not yet been made available.”
1&1 Drillisch won 5G mobile spectrum at auction back in 2019 with the intention of building out its own network and becoming Germany’s fourth national operator. By 2021, 1&1 had signed a deal with Vantage Towers to access up to 5,000 of the towerco’s existing mobile sites, allowing them to more rapidly deploy their burgeoning 5G network.
The contract specified that 3,800 sites were to be made available by 2025.
By the end of 2022, however, it was becoming clear that access to this may sites by 2025 would be unlikely, with 1&1 saying it had been granted access to just five sites. In 2023, 1&1 formally complained to BKartA, who subsequently launched an investigation into the source of Vantage’s delays in providing the agreed upon infrastructure.
1&1 says the delays caused by Vantage have severely harmed their ability to compete in the market,
The BKartA said that Vodafone and Vantage could have taken steps to resolve this issue but instead appear to have focussed on supporting Vodafone’s rollout.
“Based on current knowledge, the companies would have had numerous options to respond to any difficulties in fulfilling the contract without causing such massive delays. For example, the companies could have temporarily shifted Vodafone’s own expansion to locations other than those planned for 1&1 and/or focused more of their own resources on contract fulfilment,” said the statement.
The regulator says it is “provisionally considering, in addition to establishing the antitrust violations, ordering the provision of the remaining sites within three years and accompanying this order with further measures”.
Vodafone and Vantage Towers now both have an opportunity to explain themselves to the regulator, with a final ruling expected “mid-year”.
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